Happy trails
Alexandra Vaccaro of Washington enjoys a rare warm March day with a bike ride on the Montour Trail.
Dave Straub of Peters Township pedals along the Montour Trail in Peters Township.
Alexandra Vaccaro of Washington puts on her helmet in preparation for a bike ride along the Montour Trail near Hendersonville.
Shaun Hay walks as his mother, Kathy Hay, of Peters Township, bikes the Montour Trail in Peters Township.
Ken Cushey fine-tunes a bike at The Tandem Bike Connection in Hendersonville.
Seth Fosmire, owner of The Tandem Bike Connection in Hendersonville, with a tandem bike he sells and rents
While some prefer to walk the trail, Tim Georgalas of Canton Township enjoys riding along the Montour Trail in Hendersonville.
Across the country, more than 22,000 miles of abandoned railroad tracks have been converted into trails since the mid-1980s.
Pennsylvania ranks fifth, with 170 rail trails that account for 1,749 miles, says the Rails-To-Trails Conservancy, a nonprofit organization working to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines.
Among them is the Montour Trail, a 47-mile gem that the Montour Trail Council calls the longest suburban rail trail in the United States.
Shaped like the letter “C,” the Montour Trail starts in Coraopolis and ends in Clairton on the Monongahela River, passing through some of the most scenic and diverse neighborhoods in Washington and Allegheny counties.
The trail has it all, says Ned Williams, president of the nonprofit Montour Trail Council: more than a dozen bridges – highlighted by the nearly 1,000-foot-long McDonald Viaduct near mile 18, three railroad tunnels, woodlands, gently rolling hills, urban sections and connections to the Great Allegheny Passage, Panhandle Trail and Pittsburgh International Airport.
“There aren’t a lot of places that have a facility like this,” said Williams. “It’s easy to get to, and it’s lots of fun once you do. It’s right in the western and southern suburbs of Pittsburgh, and it serves those areas very well.” A brief history: Montour Trail is named after the railroad and the creek that meanders along the route for the first eight miles.
The tracks of the Montour Railroad and the Peters Creek branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad were paved over to form the trail. The Montour Railroad, founded in 1877, served 27 mines in the region and carried 7 million tons of coal annually. It was sold in 1946 and ceased operation in 1984.
In homage to the trail’s ties to the railroad industry, the Montour Trail Council has erected sign boards between miles 29 and 30 that describe the history of the railroad. Bicyclists and pedestrians also pass by pieces of the rolling stock once used for the railroad.
So far, 45 miles of the main trail and 12 miles of branch trails are complete, with a few gaps in the southern portion of the trail that the Montour Trail Council is working to close.
Three major projects are under way in 2015. The largest is the renovation of the Library Viaduct, a $2.2 million, 500-foot span that will eliminate a dangerous trail gap along Route 88 and give walkers, cyclists and hikers a path to the Port Authority’s rail station, Williams said.
“Ultimately, people can bike to the station and then ride the train into Pittsburgh,” said Williams. “The connections the trail provides are important. In 2011, we opened a branch to the Pittsburgh airport that allows travelers to fly directly in with their bicycles and get right on the trail and start touring around without needing an automobile. It puts us right into that group of major cities like Washington, D.C., that have direct trail connections to the airport.”
Also on tap is the construction of Valley Brook Bridge No. 2, a $1.3 million bridge that will cross Valley Brook Road and is scheduled for completion in July.
One key to the trail’s steady growth is the Montour Trail Council’s army of volunteers, who last year donated an estimated 20,000 hours to build and maintain the trail, according to Mark Imgrund, president of the Peters Township Friends of the Trail.
Six Friends of the Trail groups perform most of the day-to-day maintenance of the trail – mowing grass, repairing storm damage, smoothing out the limestone, cleaning up tree branches – and hold fundraisers to help with local maintenance.
They also tend public garden areas along the path and have planted wildflowers and installed bird feeders, benches and a white tandem “ghost” bicycle along the trail.
“It’s a great trail. If it wasn’t for the volunteers, we wouldn’t have that trail,” said Dennis Sims, president of the Cecil Friends of the Trail, which maintains trail miles 12.3 to 20.7.
The Cecil Township portion of the trail houses the National Tunnel, a 623-foot curved and lighted tunnel, which, according to lore, is haunted.
“The great thing about the trail is that it’s an outdoor venue that can be used any time of the year. Bicyclists, hikers, walkers, runners, cross-country skiers and snowshoers use the trail year-round,” said Sims. “And you can enjoy it without worrying about vehicular traffic on the open road.”
According to Sims, the Montour Trail Council started in the summer of 1989, when a group got together to raise money to acquire the right-of-way and purchase the Washington County portion of the trail.
The first section, a 4.5 mile stretch in Cecil Township, was completed in 1992, “and we gained a lot of momentum,” said Sims.
Among those early volunteers was Frank Ludwin, affectionately dubbed “Mr. Fixit,” who lent his backhoe and dump truck to help complete projects.
He led several major projects on the original section of the trail, and in 2008, when the National Tunnel’s surface was paved, Ludwin, then 75 years old, bought a bike to become the first person to ride on the new surface.
Ludwin was an active volunteer until he died in December at the age of 81.
In tribute, Cecil Township named the Southpointe Connector of the trail the Frank Ludwin Memorial Trail.
The steady progress toward the completion of the trail has opened up the area to a variety of visitors and economic opportunities.
In 2012, Dave and Lori Poe and Seth and Laurie Fosmire opened The Tandem Connection, a bicycle sales and rental, repair and storage shop near mile 27 in Hendersonville that includes an ice cream shop, a barbecue joint called the Bike Shop Grill, a coffee shop and a gift shop.
Two large fireplaces keep customers warm during the winter months.
The century-old building in which the Poes and Fosmires set up shop once served as the company store of the Hendersonville Mine.
The former owner told the couples, who are frequent trail users, that he waited for years for the construction of two bridges that carry the trail over Georgetown and Morganza, but he grew tired of waiting.
“It’s all about location and timing,” said Poe. “Not only did the bridges go in, but we’re kind of right in the middle of the trail, so a lot of people use us as a destination point. They get an ice cream, get something to drink, turn around and finish the ride. Or, they park in our lot and start their ride.”
Poe said the trail attracts “a lot of out-of-state people who want to bike or hike the Great Allegheny Passage or who want to use the Panhandle Trail.”
“We have a log book full of people who come from California and Oregon or from Washington, D.C., headed to Cleveland,” said Poe. “You just never know in the summertime where people who walk in are coming from.”
Poe said the business has grown each year since the couples opened Tandem Connection.
The shop is one of the only places in Washington County where outdoor enthusiasts can rent cross-country skis. It also rents out fat bikes that include four-inch tires, enabling cyclists to ride year-round.
Tim Georgalas, technology coordinator at Chartiers-Houston School District, rides his bike on the trail year-round.
“A lot of people don’t realize it’s in our backyard. I bring my bike to work, and after work I’ll head to the trail and ride for an hour-and-a-half or two hours. I can get in about 20 miles in less than two hours,” said Georgalas. “It’s so well-maintained, and the limestone is so nice. It’s perfect to ride on. It’s a great trail.”